


would anyone even know

by ballerina716



Category: Julie and The Phantoms (TV)
Genre: Band Bonding, Bonding, Dysfunctional Family, Family Drama, Found Family, Sad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-19
Updated: 2020-12-19
Packaged: 2021-03-10 22:02:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,771
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28164447
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ballerina716/pseuds/ballerina716
Summary: Reggie's never had the most functional family, but he's never thought about being left behind before. Luckily, the boys figure out that something's different recently.
Relationships: Alex & Bobby | Trevor Wilson & Luke Patterson & Reggie, Alex & Reggie (Julie and The Phantoms), Bobby | Trevor Wilson & Reggie, Luke Patterson & Reggie (Julie and The Phantoms)
Comments: 3
Kudos: 81





	would anyone even know

**Author's Note:**

> title from Belief by Ben Frankenhouser  
> This is the first fic I've ever written and it just kinda happened. No one has read this and I just kinda wrote this spur of the moment, but I thought I would put it out into the world.  
> Hopefully someone likes it! Let me know what you think.

He doesn’t know when it started exactly. There were always times when things were tense in the house and Reggie and his siblings just knew to stay quiet and out of the way. Reggie thought that this was typical. Everyone’s parents fought sometimes, right? When he was younger, he could just slip up to his bedroom and claim he was finishing homework. The excuse was usually believable enough considering how much time Reggie spent with the boys, especially as Sunset Curve gained steam with their music.  


As the years went on, Tommy--three years older than Reggie himself--moved into his college dorm, leaving his brother and sister to deal with the growing tensions. Chrissy, the youngest at nine years old, was usually unconcerned or, more often, unaware of how serious the issues were. This left Reggie to deal with the fall out by himself as time passed and the fighting got worse.  


The worst came one night in late August. It was late enough when the argument started that Reggie had already sequestered himself in his room for the night, working through edits on what could be Sunset Curve’s newest song. One or two more solid verses and then maybe, _maybe_ , he would finally be able to convince Luke to let the band perform it _(okay so probably not because he seemed to be very opposed to country but still-)_. Chrissy had been put in bed hours ago and Tommy, home for the summer, was out with friends.  


His mom had just come in from a night at her boss’ house for an end of the season barbeque and his dad had been waiting for her in the living room for hours. It started small, as it always had, with Dad asking why she was home so late and Mom responding with a snarky response about living her life. The unusual part of this fight was how quickly it escalated. One second Reggie was making a wording change and the next he was frozen as the voices finally reached his ears.  


Considering how common these types of conversations took place, Reggie thought nothing of it and put his headphones in with music to drown out the noise. That was quickly revealed to not be enough as the fighting overtook both the song playing in his ears and any prospective lyric ideas. Deciding that it was only going to get worse from there, Reggie called it quits for the night and started packing away his writing to show the guys the next day.  
_“Then maybe we should just get a divorce!”_  


Reggie shot up straight. He’d never heard that before. His dad had never reached that level of anger before. It shocked Reggie enough to move to his own door to hear what was going on better.  


_“--I need to live my life without you telling me how long I’m allowed to stay out or where I’m supposed to go.”_   


_“Well, I shouldn’t need to worry about you coming home because you decided to not tell me you were coming home three hours later than planned!”_   


The idea struck Reggie: what would happen if his parents separated? He was never either of their favorites, little Chrissy always being coddled by Mom and Tom bonding with Dad over sports in a way that Reggie never could. Reggie spent most of his life aware of the fact that he was a prime example of a middle child, but it was never something he brought up to anyone. Somehow, he had convinced himself that it was normal that his parents had never seen the band perform. Tommy always had a game they needed to go to or they had to take Chrissy shopping to celebrate her top grades. It wasn’t a big deal, Reggie knew he wasn’t the priority and that was fine.  


Until he stopped and considered a separation. Would he have to sit there while they fought over who got Chrissy and Tom and forgot about him? Would he even be considered? Reggie sat against his door, unable to see through tears at the thought of being abandoned, rooted to the same spot until long after the fighting finally quieted.

* * *

The next few weeks were tense as things settled. Whispered arguments in passing and louder ones behind closed bedroom doors at night. Reggie, whose room was directly across the hall from his parents, spent most nights tucked into the corner of his room against the door and listened. Just to make sure he had as much information as possible, just in case. Though Luke, Alex, and Bobby loved to make jokes about Reggie being a little slow on the uptake, in reality he hated being unaware of his surroundings. If his parents were fighting, Reggie needed to know what was going on, so he could be as prepared as possible for anything.  


Not that he had to try very hard to learn what the problems were. Apparently his parents had come to the decision that if they couldn’t talk to each other about their problems, they would tell Reggie. He would be sitting on the couch, jotting down some lyrics and all of a sudden his dad was telling him about how unappreciated Mom made him feel. Or his mom would come into the kitchen as Reggie dried the dishes and complain about Dad asking where she was going one too many times. Of course it made for very uncomfortable conversations over dinner with Reggie trying his best to keep Chrissy out of the drama and at least one parent refusing to sit at the table with the other. Every conversation ended with the reminder that family issues should _not_ leave the family and that Reggie should not tell anyone about what was happening.  


Most nights, Reggie ended up sleeping very little and almost always after crying quite a bit. So much so that the boys bring it to him in their last rehearsal.  


The rehearsal itself was fine. They were getting ready to play a short set at the next school dance at the public school one town away and by the end of the practice Reggie was exhausted. Bobby had gone into the house to grab some water and Luke sprinted to write down a lyric idea before he lost it. Alex, always in tune with the other boys’ emotions, even when his own confuse him, approaches him first.  


“Hey Reg, are you okay?”  


Reggie is caught off guard. He had made sure that every note was correct as he played because he didn’t want to bring any attention to his current situation. He thought that as long as he played well, no one would notice the bags under his eyes.  


“Yeah, all good. Why, d-did I mess up or something? I-I’ve been practicing a bunch so this gig can be perfect.” Reggie’s tripping over words as he tries to hide his obvious exhaustion.  


“No! No, you sounded great, you just seem quiet today. I wanted to make sure everything was okay, you’re usually bouncing through songs and today...I don’t know you look tired, I guess.”  


As they talk, Luke makes his way over. He had obviously heard what Alex and Reggie were talking about. He approaches and adds, “Yeah, you didn’t even share the mic with me during _Now or Never_. What’s up?”  


Reggie’s at a loss for words. With few options, he decides denial is the best route to take and tells the duo, “Nothings ‘up’. Just a little tired today guys.” Luke and Alex look at each other with their _‘he’s not fooling us’_ look.  


“Unless,” Alex says slowly, “you don’t want to tell us. Which is totally fine! You have every right to keep whatever is bothering you to yourself, but we’re here if you need us.”  


Luke jumps in, cutting Reggie off before he has the chance to respond, “Just let us know, whenever you’re ready because if something’s bothering you we wanna help!” He pauses, thinking some more before continuing. “Or someone,” Luke said leaning in and tilting his head, “I’ve been told I am _very_ intimidating.”  


Reggie seems to curl in on himself as he responds, “No one has ever called you that. And I’m fine, guys. My parents have just been a little iffy lately.” There’s a scoff and all three boys turn to see Bobby walking back in with four water bottles. He tosses one to each boy as he makes his way over. “Please, we all know how your parents get and you’ve been acting a little different for weeks.”  


All eyes turn to Reggie as he finally sighs, seeming to give in, and slumps onto the couch in the corner.  


“Fine, I am exhausted, okay! Every night I listen to my parents argue and yell at each other. Every day they unload all of their crap on me, as if I’m not sixteen. Like I should be able to handle the issues that they can’t. They’re thinking about divorce and all I can think about is the fact that they would both take Chrissy or Tom in a heartbeat and I’m just gonna be left on my own. It sucks, okay! It’s so stupid, but they’ve never even seen me play. I am constantly reminded of how disposable I am to everyone in that house and how I can’t change it.” His voice gets softer with each statement, finally being able to say what he had been thinking for months, if not longer.  


Reggie looks up, finally meeting the eyes of his bandmates. Before he can say anything else, Luke has his arms wrapped around him in a hug that Reggie returns with fervor. Bobby and Alex wordlessly sit down on either side of him and join the embrace. When the group finally separates  


Alex looks around before his eyes settle on Reggie. “You are _not_ disposable, Reg. You are the backbone of that house, whether they know it or not. Your parents may not appreciate what you do for them, but you don’t need them. We got you, no matter what. From now on, we’re your family, like it or not. You need something, we’re there, you just gotta let us know next time. We support you unconditionally.”  


Reggie, tears now freely flowing, nods silently. Luke has somehow made it onto the couch with everyone else and pulls everyone back into a hug. “We love you, Reg. No matter what.” Sinking back into his bandmates, Reggie feels more secure than he can ever remember being with his parents. _Yeah_ he thinks, _this is how family should be_.


End file.
